Window Shopping
by Saru86
Summary: Ichigo was a closet nudist - in private. Renji was a closet voyeur - led into temptation. Windows seperate them, but not for always. IchiRen, Yaoi, Lemon, Oneshot.


**Window Shopping**

_A IchiRen fanfic_

For all his shyness around others, Ichigo liked being naked. Not showing off, not for others to see, but when he was alone, he liked the feeling of nothing against his skin, aside from the fresh air caressing his body wherever it was able to touch him.

That was why he liked showering so much – he usually took his sweet time in the bath, but not prinking himself up, but usually just standing there before and after the actual shower, simply being naked.

It was the first thing he did when he entered the bathroom, too. The lock wasn't even in place and at least his shirt was already cast aside, his tight jeans following in the blink of an eye. Now he took the time to lock the door, so he wouldn't scar his sister's minds with the image of their older brother standing around naked; and it prevented his father from breaking into the bathroom and attacking him when he was defenseless, more or less.

Towels had proven a rather useful weapon the last time Isshin had pulled that prank, though…

Right now said towel was resting in Ichigo's right hand, hanging down until it pooled on the wet floor from where the water dripped down his calves. He brought the other hand to his hair and run it through the wet strands, slicking them back and out of his eyes.

A young man looked back from the mirror, watching brown eyes being revealed behind the curtain of orange-ish blond hair. They had a hard edge to them, courtesy to the fights he fought for- Well, who was he fighting for?

"You in there, Ichi-nii?" Karin's voice filtered through the closed door and Ichigo turned in that direction.

"Yep! What is it, Karin?"

"Nothing! Just thought about taking a shower, but… Guess I'll wait then!"

Ichigo faced away from the door again, face in its typical frown. It really became obvious he spent a lot of his time in the bathroom then, hu? He hated being an inconvenience for anyone even more than he loved being naked, so he decided to cut down on his nude time and dress earlier than he planned to.

"I'll be out in a sec, Karin, you may as well wait."

He practically jumped into his laid out clothes, yanking his sweat pants up and his band shirt down. 'A Hollow Life' led him out of the bathroom door, then to a left, a right and then into his own room, where he finally stopped toweling his hair dry.

The door was kicked closed behind him with a well practiced shove of his foot and Ichigo freed his head from the terry cloth. The image in the mirror standing next to his closet made him laugh out loud. His hair was tousled and stood in every direction possible, making it look like it exploded only seconds ago. It made him think about how Kon had looked after one of his attempts to escape, only to fall into Yuzu's cruel clutches. Ichigo couldn't hold himself together and cracked up over the hilarious view he gave himself and held his belly, shaking with laughter.

* * *

It was about time he got out of there!

Renji loved visiting his friends in the living world – for him they still felt "shiny", like a new toy to a kid. He only got to know them three years ago, and compared to his age they really **were** _new_. But no matter how much older he technically was, he felt close to them nonetheless.

Some felt closer than others did, though. That was why he had planned to stop at Ichigo's first, letting him know he was in town for a few days, maybe even hitting the bars tonight already.

Despite him being barely legal to drink the good stuff, Ichigo really knew how to hold his liquor and he was always fun to be out with – a fact not many people knew. Some didn't think Ichigo was capable of doing anything beside looking grim and cutting things, others assumed he wouldn't drink because whatever the reasons they thought off (well, everyone knows what they say about assuming…), and the rest simply didn't give a shit about Kurosaki Ichigo, the person responsible for Soul Society's very existence by now.

He had sacrificed everything he was, everything that made him the caring person he was, the protector of his family, his town, maybe his world even, to save Soul Society.

The fight against Aizen had stripped Ichigo from his ability to protect those he loved, and he'd known about that before he made his decision. He had laid his trusted people into the hands of the shinigami society, into the hands of Renji and his fellow fighters – people Ichigo wouldn't be able to see after he had done what had to be done.

A shiver ran down Renji's spine as he made his way over the rooftops of Karakura town. He was glad Ichigo had regained his shinigami powers, happy even. He had felt complete again, when he had first seen Ichigo strolling through Seiretei's busy streets.

His uniform had looked strange at first, but Renji hadn't had eyes for the clothes Ichigo had been wearing. All his attention had been applied to the fact that Ichigo was once again walking Seiretei's streets, confident in his steps and self-assured in his powers and abilities.

He had been one of the strongest and most beautiful things Renji had seen.

And now he was on his way to spend a visit to said thing, coming unannounced and at an unusual hour at that. But since he could feel Ichigo's reiatsu simmering calmly at home, he knew where to find the boy. No, young man.

Said young man was powerful enough to fill the whole building with his relaxed reiatsu, making it impossible to pinpoint his exact position.

"Che, you really need to work on your reiatsu control, Ich!", Renji murmured when he stood in front of the Kurosaki clinic and family home. Opting for his usual path into the Kurosaki residence he jumped up and landed on a canopy, only to have another flash step having him appear on Ichigo's windowsill.

And before he could knock at the closed window and ask for entrance into the lighted room, a completely unexpected noise rang through Renji's ears and made him stop dead in his tracks, dumbfound face on and hand in the air, ready to knock at the window.

Ichigo was laughing!

* * *

Ichigo couldn't remember when he had last laughed this hard. And over something like bad hair at that! He just couldn't help himself and every time he thought he had calmed down his eyes wandered to his reflection and he cracked up again.

His belly hurt from all the laughing and his eyes were wet with tears of laughter, running down his cheeks and staining his shirt, but he didn't give a shit about that. Couldn't, even if he'd tried.

Breathing heavily he calmed down eventually, flopping down on his bed and coming to lie on his back. His face was hot, damp with drying tears and a fine sheen of sweat and probably flushed in a healthy shade of red. Rubbing his eyes Ichigo calmed his breath and slowly rose again, going out of his way **not** to look in the direction of his mirror.

Instead he combed his fingers through his hair, spiking it up until he was sure it at least resembled the way he wore his hair usually. Finally risking a look in the mirror he let out a relieved sigh.

"Phew, presentable!" He came to a stand in front of the full length mirror and let his eyes rake over his body. He wasn't one to gush over his own looks, at least not all the time. But today… He felt somewhat… _attractive_.

He knew he wasn't bad looking, not per say, but this night he felt – _dangerous_. Dangerously handsome, you might say.

Standing in front of the mirror he brought his hands to his shirt and slowly lifted the hem of it, revealing inch after inch of slightly tanned skin, stretching over well defined muscles. Fighting in Soul Society really had helped him filling out and sharpening the form of his body.

* * *

Renji swallowed around a lump in his throat that hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Ichigo laughing had already been surprising, his having a fit of laughter was almost shocking, but the transformation he had been witness of just now was… hot!

Renji had already feared of having been caught at peeping when Ichigo had plopped down on his bed, a few chuckles still rippling his body, but the light making the window reflect the room seems to have saved him from a really embarrassing situation. Both of them, probably.

Now Ichigo stood in front of his mirror and started stroking his taut stomach, his fingertips ghosting over the skin. Chiseled stomach muscles were revealed, inch by inch of perfect, lightly tanned body to be seen by Ichigo alone – and Renji, the Peeping Tom sitting on the boy's windowsill and not being able to drag his eyes away of the image in front of him.

He felt bad for cowering there, his nose already touching the glass so he'd be as close as he can get, while Ichigo was obviously oblivious to the world surrounding him. He should have sensed Renji when he arrived, right? So maybe he knew his friend was out the-

No, he didn't, Renji realized, and a pang of guilt cut through him. He had masked his reiatsu so no one would sense him – not even Ishida with his creepy talent for sensing others over what felt like miles and miles.

He felt guilty, he really did, and it weighed down on his conscious, but it didn't make him move away. It didn't make him announce his presence, either, and so Renji surrendered to his role as the perverted voyeur crouching outside a window and watching his good friend pleasuring himself while his imagination ran in overdrive.

Renji's eyes stayed glued to Ichigo's form, even when the thin fingers, capable of bringing death with a sword in seconds and protecting those who needed protection with everything they could grasp, let the shirt sink back down, concealing the mouthwatering view.

Renji started breathing again, his breath fogging up the window glass immediately. The lack of movement behind the fogged glass told him Ichigo was still standing in front of the mirror and Renji wanted to know what was happening. He needed to!

He needed to let Ichigo know he was there, too, should have stopped watching minutes ago, but… but…

The view was clear again and just in time at that! Ichigo brought his arms down, crossing in front of his body, when he gripped the hem of his band shirt again and stripped it over his head, moving his body in a fluid move strippers would envy him.

Renji reacted with an instant boner.

* * *

When Ichigo had peeled the shirt from his body and finally could see himself in the mirror again, a broad grin played over his face and he chuckled. Once again his hair stood in every direction, orange bangs framing his face and several strands hanging in front of his eyes.

Aside from the tousled part in the back of his head he looked downright _fierce_, and that made him regain his composure in a heartbeat. Pale lips parted when the tip of a pink tongue wetted them, gliding over the lower lip in a sensual stroke and revealing white, even teeth.

A flash of someone else's lips parting in a dangerous grin flashed through Ichigo's mind and he tried to add some of those qualities to his own "smoulder". He narrowed his eyes, their gaze focused on their mirrored counterparts, and an evil glint shone in them – he looked just as predatory as the image he had in mind and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought of the person always looking like a carnivore, a dangerous wild cat out to chase its prey.

Letting go of the shirt, it fell down where he stood, a dark pile next to his bare feet, already forgotten. Instead Ichigo focused on his upper body, tracing the ridges and valleys his musculature built on his body.

He'd always been thin, never one to carry around too much ballast, thanks to his martial arts training. But since he had taken on the job as a substitute shinigami, his lithe form had taken a turn to a buffer, more defined shape and he liked it. A lot.

He wasn't as bulky as Chad or Kenpachi were, but he wasn't as lean as Ishida anymore, either. He could probably compare to Shuuhei in built and muscles, and that's what he'd always hoped to accomplish.

Turning this way and that Ichigo examined his body, the way the muscles rippled under his fair skin when he stretched or bent over. Defined, muscular, but flexible and fast, agile and strong at the same time. It fitted his fighting style just fine, and that he liked the look his training and fights had given him as well was just the cherry on top.

Speaking of cherries…

* * *

This was torture. Pure torture and guilty pleasure at the same time.

Ichigo threw his arms around, twisting and stretching with the movements, his eyes never leaving his reflection in the mirror. Subtle shifts und the skin showed where tendons and muscles worked to move the young man's body accordingly to his wishes and it was a symphony of movements.

Fluidly Ichigo turned to the side, looking at his own profile in the mirror, how his broader ribcage narrowed down to the slim waist with the low riding sweat pants hanging off those delectable hips.

Before Renji knew what he was doing he was palming his erection through the fabric layers of his uniform, shuddering with the pleasure his touch gave him; but even more so with the show Ichigo gave him for free – the only price being Renji's consciousness. His guilt had shut up, though – or he just didn't give a shit anymore.

What's he doing now, Renji wondered when Ichigo stood motionless, then stepped back to steps. Suddenly he bent over, bringing his palms flat against the ground while his legs stood straight and his ass stood up into the air. He was bent in half, his upper body almost touching his knees, while the young man showed off his artistic skills in bending over.

That didn't bode too well with Renji, who found himself struggling to keep his stance with the abundance of visual input. Both of Ichigo's ass cheeks were clearly visible through the cotton of the pants, making for the most delectable butt Renji had seen in his entire afterlife.

Taking into account the masses of butts he had seen, for example in the academy's shower rooms, that meant quite a lot. Taking his past into the equation, as well as his taste in good looking guys, that meant even more.

His legs began to quiver with the strain he put his muscles through, but there was no way he would move now! Paradise just in front of his eyes, he wouldn't leave his spot for anything.

He wouldn't want to be caught, only because he moved in the wrong moment, either.

When Ichigo eventually rose again, his face was flushed with all the blood pumped into his head, and he grinned at the mirror. Flicking his bangs out of his view he brought his hands onto his skin once again. Starting at his chest he rubbed his palms over his pectoral muscles and even pinched his nipples, one time each. Renji, suppressing a moan, found one of his hands in the fold at the front of his uniform, too, and had to bite his lips hard not to groan aloud when his fingers pinched his own, hard nipple.

"Ich…" he whispered, a small cloud of fog tinting the window. He had leaned his forehead against the glass by now, the cold surface helping to cool down his face as well as keeping his balance.

But it was a frantic grab for the handle Ichigo had installed on his window for visiting shinigami that prevented Renji from falling backwards when the substitute shinigami gripped his pants and ripped them down in one smooth motion.

Renji gasped, holding the life saving handle in a death grip and taking in the form of Kurosaki Ichigo in all his (nude) glory.

Pleasure was back to torture, since he really couldn't start jerking off against Ichigo's window – or could he?

* * *

Ichigo thought he had heard a thumping noise coming from outside, but soon was sure it was just the blood rushing through his ears thanks to his stretching.

He was flushed once again, but his hair had somehow survived the exercise this time, staying perfectly predatory, and therefore encouraging him in his feeling of being hot and needy.

Without thinking too much about it, Ichigo grabbed his sweat pants at the hem, gripped it hard and yanked it down, exposing his calves, his thighs and his private parts to the fresh air in his room. Light hair glistened under the ceiling lamp, adorning his muscular legs, blending from blond on his thighs to a darker orange on his calves, but it all started with a batch of dark orange hair between his legs.

Ichigo's cock hung between his thighs, slowly filling with blood at feeling freedom around him, supported by thoughts of a certain shinigami. Ichigo watched his penis filling with blood and raising his mushroom shaped head slowly with interest. As a young man of eighteen years he knew what a erect penis looked like, he'd seen his own often enough, and he knew the flaccid state, but every once in a while he entertained himself with watching the development of an erection.

More often than not, thoughts of Renji in his tattered uniform after a hard training session helped at that, and those thoughts did a terrific job today, too.

In the blink of an eye, Ichigo sported a proud erection and gripped it with determined fingers, only a shy glance at the door making sure it was at least closed, if not locked. Dangerous? Yeah. Exciting? Hell yeah!

One hand playing with his balls he brought the other one to his face, licking the palm thoroughly. He let his tongue play over the salty, sweaty skin, covering it in saliva, and every now and then he sucked on his fingers. It weren't his fingers he was sucking in his head, nor was it his palm that he licked when he closed his eyes.

In his imagination, there was a lot of crimson hair being involved in the exploration of tongue on skin and hand on body.

"Renji…" he mumbled when his wet hand closed around his stiff cock and stroked hard.

**THUMP**

What was that-?

**CRACK**

Ichigo whirled around, eyes wide and shock written on his face when he saw a movement in front of his window before a second, cracking sound shuttered the silence.

Something huge and black was pressed against his window, whirling movement and flashes of white and red made it difficult to identify what was trying to attack him in a weak moment like this.

Searching frantically for his clothes, Ichigo jumped through his room, one hand always shielding his shriveled ex-erection. Finally he managed to slip into a leather jacket and black slacks, frantically fighting the zipper and button closed.

Only then his mind started to work properly again and made him search for his shinigami badge – he wouldn't be able to fight in Italian leather, he needed his sword!

It took him a whole two minutes to detect his badge lying on the windowsill and grabbing it he slammed it against his chest, slipping out of his body in full shinigami attire and noticing the calming weight of Zangetsu resting on his shoulder.

Brown eyes zeroed in on the window, fighting to identify something through the reflections in the surface, only to finally realize who was watching back at him with giant eyes, an ashen face and the window handle in his hand.

Red hair fluttered around Renji's hair before the shinigami lost his balance and tilted back.

* * *

He couldn't feel his legs anymore, and his crotch felt like all of his blood had pooled in his throbbing cock at the picture of Ichigo naked, hot and jerking off in front of him. Both of Renji's hands were busy rubbing his aching dick, he had even wiggled his way through the folds of his hakama and could feel the silken skin of his erection sliding under his callused fingers.

His breathing had fogged up a big part of the window, so he had to stretch to be able to see all of Ichigo – his perfect body gleaming under the light, his bicep shifting under his skin whenever he moved his arm, even the gliding of Ichigo's fingers in and out of his mouth, being sucked with vigor.

That was when the catastrophe happened. A cramp shook his right leg and he couldn't regain his balance as both legs refused to do their work. Frantic grabbing ensued, followed by the desperate decision to throw his weight forward. Maybe, just maybe, Ichigo would be too far gone to notice the-

**THUMP**

No, no one could _not_ notice this noise. And it hadn't even helped Renji's position in the slightest! He was still struggling to stay on the windowsill – it wasn't exactly his favorite spot to be right now that he most probably had been caught in peeping at Ichigo jerking off, but it beat falling down two stories and land on a rather hard looking ground.

One hand had finally won the fight against stubborn uniform fabric (by ripping it apart) and had found a hold on the window handle. The resounding **CRACK** when Renji's weight dropped down on the handle wasn't too comforting, but it was way more inviting than Ichigo's shocked expression as he turned to the window.

And at the same time as a second crack put the final nail in the Peeping Tom's balance's coffin, the victim of this shameless disrespectfulness and betrayal started the frantic search for something to cover his nudity.

Almost as frantic as Renji searched for something to help him not fall of the windowsill, but his chances disappeared rapidly. All he could do was flail his arms, somehow trying to get a hold at the smooth glass in front of him.

Then time seemed to stand still as Ichigo's eyes closed in on him and recognition lit up in those dark brown pools of trust and trustworthiness. Renji wasn't worthy, not anymore, and so he let go of everything, let go of the windowsill. Only the window handle stayed in his hand stubbornly, as to give concrete evidence of his crime.

He hit the ground with a resounding **THUD**, something made a sickening, cracking noise and the world went black.

* * *

When Renji came to again, he opened his eyes to a foreign ceiling. A suffocating feeling pressed down on his lungs and he already felt the guilt trip starting until he realized it was a soaking bandage restricting his breathing, being bound around his aching ribcage.

"Good morning, Abarai-kun," a voice greeted him from somewhere to the left. He knew that voice, he knew there was a face to that voice somewhere in his brain… "Quite a stunt you pulled there," the voice went on, and Renji found himself with images of a stubbly jaw and a dorky face flooding his mind. He immediately missed the pictures he had seen before that; pictures of Ichigo in a band shirt and a pair of sweat pants, Ichigo _naked_ or even Ichigo in the leather jacket and the elegant pair of black slacks – all of those images were missing the shocked expression on his face, though.

"Kurosaki-san?" His voice was strained and his throat felt dry, like he had slept with an open mouth.

"Ah, at least you haven't lost your memories, that's a good sign."

The doctor came into view, his face unusually serious. "What I want to know is: What did you do lying in front of the clinic, unconscious and with two broken ribs?"

"I… I was in front of the clinic, not in the backy-" Renji stopped his mumbling mouth just in time.

"Where did you think you were found, Abarai-kun?"

"I don't know! I… Ehm, I was unconscious, yes! So I can't know how I got there, right?"

"Well, you have to have got there somehow, so my son could find you out cold. Would you mind explain me why you are in Karakura town? I talked to Soul Society – they don't have any missions here, everything is calm, so why are you here? A lieutenant of the Gotei 13, the fukutaichou of the noble Kuchiki Byakuya at that." Kurosaki's tone was relentless and totally void of its usual cheerfulness.

"I assert my right of concussion!" the wounded shinigami explained defiantly and pouted, confused as to why Ichigo had brought him here after having caught him peeping. A twisted form of punishment, maybe?

This theory gained plausibility when Isshin struck out and hit him in the head hard, turning the lights off again. "I don't like to be lied to, Abarai-kun. And I won't tolerate it in my own house, where my family lives."

* * *

Once again Renji came to, but this time he recognized the ceiling, identifying it as the same one he had seen the last time he woke up. Figured Kurosaki Isshin knew how to make waking up in a hospital a pleasant experience. "Nice blue."

"Yuzu chose it." And once again an unseen voice welcomed him back in the world of the conscious. "She said blue calms down and soothes the eyes."

"It does," Renji confirmed, gaze solely focused on the soothing blue of the ceiling. He wouldn't look at Ichigo, wherever he stood in the room, wouldn't see the betrayal burning in his eyes. "Tell her she made the right choice, would ya?"

"Tell her yourself, she's waiting to get in here since she heard you were found last night."

"Uh-hm, I will." Woooow, this was awkward. And it was all his fault, Renji knew that. But there wasn't anything he could do, nothing to amend what he had destroyed so thoughtlessly by entertaining his own voyeuristic lunacy.

"Ichigo, I-" But the click of the closing door cut off his words – he was alone.

But not for long: "Renji-kun!" and Renji found himself with an armful of Kurosaki Yuzu crying against his shoulder. "I was so worried!"

"Shhh, Yuzu, it's okay now! See, I'm alright!"

Big, teary eyes watched him intently and finally Yuzu stopped crying with a sniff. "Okay, then I'm alright, too." She stepped back and dragged a chair next to the bed. Flopping down on it she asked: "So, what brings you here? You should have told us you were coming, then I would have made taiyaki!"

"Ah, cute little Yuzu, you don't need to do that!" He l_oved_ taiyaki, Yuzu's home made even more, but it was guilt that filled his stomach to the brink. How long would it take for him not to feel that guilty anymore?

"Say that again after you had the foot of the hospital kitchen!" a new voice said and Renji began to wonder if there was any chance people wouldn't invade his sickroom without even knocking first. That was before different thoughts about appropriate behavior and respecting other people's private space made themselves known.

"Don't say that, Karin! The nice people in the kitchen do their best to feed all the sick people in the hospital."

"Yeah, well, it sure helps the will to get out of here…" Sometimes Karin simply couldn't hide who her bigger brother was. "Either way, Yuzu, Goatface sent me to get you out of here – he'll be here in a sec to run some tests on him, and since he's a shinigami and all we're not supposed to see that."

Yuzu presented Renji with an apologetic smile and rose from the chair. "I'm sorry, Renji-kun. Get well soon!" And he was alone once again, determined to use every calm minute to work on how to apologize to Ichigo.

Memories of when he had kneeled in front of Ichigo, bloody and beaten, begging him to save Rukia from being killed by Soul Society, flooded his mind and a weak grin crept over his face. Maybe they should beat each other to a pulp again, that seemed to work for him and Ichigo…

* * *

It had been strange for Ichigo to see Renji being unconscious without seeing bloody wounds covering his body – he usually had the blood loss to qualify for fainting, but this time his body seemed unharmed. A little too unharmed for his disgruntled savior, but he wouldn't beat an unconscious man, not even for the things said man had done.

Instead he heaved the muscular form onto his shoulders and rounded the house, entering through the door of the clinic. "Hey, Old Man, here's someone needing your expertise!"

Isshin came around a corner and watched him bewildered, taking in his leather jacket and slacks, before he seemed to register his cargo. "Is that a shinigami?"

"Yeah, it is. Would you now please do something about this? I found him in front of the hospital, he's unconscious."

"Is he breathing?"

"Am I the doctor?"

"You're smart enough to become one!"

"Dad, please! Patient here!" Eventually Isshin came closer and helped Ichigo carry his burden into an examination room where they stripped the unconscious man of his uniform but left the fundoshi untouched.

That didn't mean Ichigo didn't spare a glance at the general area – or several glances. That was when he noticed the wet spots spread over the fabric, with a particularly big one soaking through where the bulge in the patient's underwear found its grand finale.

After having watched Isshin poke the unconscious Renji for a few minutes Ichigo asked: "What's wrong with him?"

"Two cracked ribs, but nothing too serious. I'll have him here for the night and tomorrow to see for a concussion or something, but he should be fine by then."

"Okay. Thanks, dad!" Isshin watched his son leave the examination room and wondered if the fruit of his loins had realized he had sighed in relieve when he had heard the examination result.

* * *

That had been last night, and now Ichigo stood in front of the room where he knew Renji was lying scantily-clad once again. Humiliation burned hot in his blood and he had to hold back whenever he was near the nosey redhead, but at the same time he wanted to make sure he was fine. Falling down two stories wasn't a small deal, not even for a gifted shinigami.

He pushed off the wall and opened the door he had been staring at for the past fifteen minutes. Silence welcomed him, only disturbed by deep breathing, some soft snores and the creaky sound of the blinds in front of the door window being shut. Approaching the single bed in the darkened room he could make out Renji's body under the covers and a chair standing next to his sleeping form.

Ichigo sank down on the chair and observed the man in his sleep, took in the way his tattooed brows frowned or how his nose twitched in the cutest way. He didn't know how long he sat there, just watching Renji and letting his anger ebb away, but eventually the sleeper stirred and opened his eyes, an adorably groggy expression on his face.

"Ich, what'cha doin' 'ere?"

"Waiting for you to wake up, baka!" Ichigo scolded. Renji's familiar address had somewhat irritated him; it was like he didn'tcare for what he had done…

"Oh, yeah. Well, it seems I'm awake, but I'm not too sure about it. Not really likely for you to be in the same room as I am right now."

Ichigo's eyebrow quirked up.

"See, Ich, about… About yesterday, ehm. Well, I. Ehm. That's kinda hard on me, ya know?"

The second eyebrow joined the first one.

"I made a mistake! I'm sorry for what I did, for disrespecting your privacy, for failing you on such a basic level. I would unmake it if I only could, but I can't. I can only beg you for your forgiveness, or at least for you not to hate me. I know I probably don't deserve this, but I… I wish I was worthy your forgiveness, Ichigo."

"Renji, I-"

"Please, don't. Don't say anything just yet, let me… Let me explain why I hope to be worthy of your forgiveness. You have to remember – at one point in the past you trusted me enough to let me take care of your family when you couldn't anymore. You saved my world, my life, my friends, and you sacrificed your powers for us. You trusted me enough to let go of your powers for me to protect what you couldn't protect anymore. You trusted me enough to do so, even when you wouldn't be able to see me doing what you asked me to do. We trusted each other, Ich! I still trust you and I need you to trust me again, too!"

"Well, Ren-"

"No, I'm not done! What I did yesterday was wrong in so many ways. I know that. And if it were possible, I'd undo it, all of this wouldn't have happened."

"You mean when I wouldn't have seen you…"

"Exactly! You wouldn't have a reason to not trust me anymo- what?!"

"All of this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been such a klutz! Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed. I'm utterly pissed right now and it took all I've got NOT to kick your ass last night!"

"But you didn't…"

"No, I didn't. You were unconscious, idiot!"

"I would've deserved it…"

Seeing Renji wallow in self-pity was more than Ichigo could take – the ire simmering below the surface boiled up again he exploded. "Would you please shut up?! This isn't you, Renji! Look at you, do you even hear what you're saying?"

"I know I looked at you last night, Ichigo, and it kills me to think you're hat-"

"Damnit, Renji! Shut the hell up! I know you saw me, I know you liked it, get over it! Is this the man who wants to beat Kuchiki fucking Byakuya?! Is this the man who already fought Kuchiki fucking Byakuya?! You fought arrancar, you fought Aizen and his minions, I don't know what you should be afraid of now?!"

"Of losing…"

"You haven't lost one of those fights! You're alive and kicking! Well, you will be, soon. That's not losing!"

"It's not winning, either. And it's not losing fights I'm afraid of. It's losing you."

Silence ensued. And then some more. Until Ichigo chuckled. "You- You didn't just say what I think- I heard, right?!"

* * *

Renji watched him in horror, his self being laid open for Ichigo to judge him – and the kid had the guts to laugh at him! A feral growl escaped Renji and he sat up in a sudden motion, only to hiss through his teeth and sink back again. "Don't you dare laugh at me, Kurosaki!" he tried to threaten, but the cant in his voice made it sound like a whine.

"Man, Renji, listen to what you just said! 'I don't want to lose you!'" Ichigo mocked, then finally calmed down again and helped Renji sitting up, even going as far as fluffing his pillows up to support his weight. "Renji, really. Listen to me: What you did last night was… it wasn't right, and it was unexpected. And I guess it wasn't something one of us wants to repeat anytime soon – not the way we went about it yesterday. You are in hospital with two cracked ribs and I almost shat my pants when I saw something flailing at my window."

"You couldn't have done it."

"Couldn't have done what?"

"Shit your pants."

"And why is that? Do you think I wouldn't be able to shit my own pants?!" Ichigo had gotten louder than he'd planned to – they were in a hospital, after all. That, and he was talking to a person most of the other people in this hospital wouldn't even be able to see…

"Oh no, I'm sure you'd totally do that! But you weren't wearing any last night!"

And finally Renji looked up, finally looked him in the eyes and didn't hide between his unruly red mane. "I would know, since I saw you…" And now they both chuckled, grinning foolishly at each other.

With one stupid comment Renji had dispelled the tension lying heavy in the air and it was easier to breathe now. Ichigo's close proximity worked wonders on how he felt, he was almost convinced he'd be able to leave the hospital this very second, but he was reluctant to really do so.

First of all he would have to leave Ichigo's side (and he was way more relieved Ichigo didn't hate him than he would admit aloud) and second of all there was no way to hide the boner Ichigo's scent had left him with, not in a fundoshi. So he stayed put under the covers and waited for his friend to say something.

"Yeah, you saw me. Which leads to another question. Why did you see me?"

"Ehrm, windows are transparent?"

"Renji."

"Okay, sorry! When I came to knock at your window you laughed." That made Ichigo pause. "We both know you don't do that very often, and I… I liked hearing you laugh, seeing you laugh, so I stayed and waited for what was to happen, what had made you laugh. Figured you wouldn't show what cracked you up. Instead you put on a show worth of being taught the finest of Rukongai's strippers – and I know what I'm talkin'bout!"

"Not helping, Renji."

"Oh, yeah… Either way, ehm. Well, yes, suddenly you began to caress yourself in front of the mirror and I got hard." He had the decency to at least look ashamed while he told Ichigo about what he had done outside of his window, though the redness in his cheeks didn't come from embarrassment. A closer look at Renji and everyone would have known about the effect retelling his observations from the night before had on him.

When he got to the point where Ichigo had started sucking his fingers – the moment that had ultimately led to Renji's fall – both men wore flushed faces.

"So you saw pretty much everything, hu?" Ichigo asked, face glowing red with humiliation.

"Pretty much, yepp," Renji confirmed, just as red, but not nearly as ashamed. "I wouldn't do it again, Ich, I never would! But I wouldn't mind seeing it again." There was no point in lying right now; not when he wanted to re-earn the other man's trust.

"You owe me, Renji."

"Hu? An apology? I thought this conversation covered that?"

"Not an apology, Renji. Reparations."

"You make it sound like some kind of war!"

* * *

"All's fair in love and in war!" Ichigo smiled a little at that, watching Renji struggle for words. "So yes, it is some kind of war. And you will pay for the damage you caused!" Without a warning he yanked at Renji's blankets, taking the shinigami by surprise and revealing his tattooed body, as well as the once again wet spotted fundoshi. "Excited much, Renji?" Ichigo asked while his eyes roamed over tanned skin and taut muscles. "Because I am."

He knew about the tattoos, knew Renji's body, had seen it more than once when his uniform had been tattered or in the healing springs after sparring, but never had he been able to really _look_ at it like he was now.

Bold, black lines drew the intriguing pattern on his skin, leading from his partially covered chest over his equally partly covered stomach, until the very tips of them led straight into the region hidden behind the bulged fundoshi. And bulged it was!

"There's a monster waiting to be freed, hu?"

"There sure is!" Renji laughed, finally relaxing back into the cushions. He cast Ichigo a strange glance and sighed. "You know, you sure know how to drug a guy, hu?"

"What did I do to drug you?" Ichigo asked confused and dragged his eyes away from the delectable body in front of him.

"Well, all those painkillers for my ribs, probably something for the head and stuff? I'm tired all day long and-"

"Renji, my dad didn't give you anything! This is a hospital for humans! We don't have anything for shinigami! All you got was bandages soaked in Urahara's healing springs!"

That made Renji shut up for quite some time, his jaw agape. "So you're saying I'm clean?"

"Sober as the day you were born."

"I wasn't sober, my mother was a drinker."

"As sober as you were when you were sober, then."

"And still I told you about what I feel, about what I did and stuff? Wow! That's… surprising."

"Is it really?"

"Hell yes it is!"

"How many times did we save each other's asses, Renji? I stopped counting at one point, but I knew you'd always be there. Just like you know I'll always be there whenever you need me. I was there yesterday, when I brought you here, and I will be there tomorrow, when someone needs to shove you around in a wheel chair."

"Wheel chair?"

"Insurance issues."

"Ichigo, no one will see me sitting in the wheel chair. You'll be taking a chair for a walk."

"Oh, right. Either way, you know what I mean!" His face felt warm again, and he was sure he was blushing like crazy. That his reaction made Renji's confined cock twitch in his underwear didn't help the matters.

"Come here, Ich!" Renji whispered, grasping Ichigo around his neck and dragging him into a sensuous kiss. When they parted, Ichigo was breathing hard, as was Renji. "I'm not one for many words, you know," he said, underlining his statement with short pecks onto Ichigo's lips. "More the direct, physical guy."

"Now that's no surprise!" Ichigo chuckled and dove in for another kiss, this one even more heated, eager, willing. Two pairs of lips opened at the same time and two slick tongues met in the middle, sparring, warring, eventually joining in a slowing dance, until there wasn't that much of a fight anymore, but an understanding for the other, and the need of being closer.

"Renji, I-"

"Yeah, right, wait-" Neither finished their sentence, but both knew they wanted to be closer, needed to feel more of each other, so Renji scooted to the side and made room for Ichigo to join him on the surprisingly spacious mattress.

A pained hiss made both stop in their tracks. "Sorry, Ren, I didn't think about that!" Ichigo apologized time and time again, slowly leaving the bed again so not to cause more pain for the recovering shinigami. He almost made it away from Renji, but then a hand closed around his upper arm and steadied him.

"I need you with me, Ich! I dreamed about you, even when unconscious. You are always in my head, cheering me on, making me strive for greater things, training harder, fighting wilder. It wasn't just my cock that wanted to watch you last night – it was me as well. Don't go now, just because I was stupid. Don't let my idiocy ruin what was about to happen!"

"What was about to happen, Ren?" Ichigo asked whispering, as if loud words could destroy the moment. When had he started to think in those mushy terms? And when had he started to think about sex with Renji in his father's hospital?

"You can't lie for shit, Ich. You think about sex, I think about sex. I want you, Ichigo. And I think you want me to."

"I… I do."

"Then come and get me!"

* * *

The last attempt had shown him the wrong in their approach of the matter, but Renji had always been a fast learner – at least when he learned from the mistakes he had made. So he settled back in the supporting pillows once again and spread his legs invitingly, urging for Ichigo to slip between them.

But being free from Renji's grip, the other man did the exact opposite and raised from the bed instead. "Shh, Renji, I'll be right there, but there are things I need to get rid of before." And deft fingers busied themselves with Renji's underwear, untying the knot and finally revealing a weeping shaft, nestled into a tuff of rich red curls. Except for… "You don't use Zabimaru to shave your balls, do you?"

"Don't need to – I have Kuchiki-taichou do it with Senbonzakura," Renji laughed, his ribs smarting from the shaking of his ribcage. Then his breath caught again at the look Ichigo gave him. Brown eyes raked over his body, taking in every square inch of tanned skin and when the cheeky tongue made her appearance, in the same way it had done the previous night, with wetting kissable lips and showing off white teeth, Renji moaned low in his throat.

"You _really_ like to watch, don't you?" Ichigo asked amused and didn't seem to be planning to join Renji on the bed anytime soon. So he lay there, bare and vulnerable, and never had he felt safer.

"Yeah, I do. I'd break a rib or two, just to be able to watch you!"

"Then I might as well grant your wish, I think…" Renji couldn't believe what his ears claimed to have heard just moments ago, but soon enough Ichigo brought his hands to his jacket and it wasn't until now that Renji realized it was the leather Ichigo had thrown over last night. Slowly, oh so slowly, the standing man pulled on the zipper, revealing inch after inch of delicious, lightly tanned skin.

Every part of Ichigo's body that was exposed to his hungry gaze was a present in itself, something worthy of being worshipped. "You are beautiful, Ich!", he murmured, breath coming in short breaths.

Ichigo simply looked up into his eyes and then gave in to a small smile, nodding his thanks. But he couldn't concentrate on what Renji said, it seemed, or concentrate at all. Renji was sure the teen had never needed this much time to open his own pants. Yes, they were the tight slacks from yesterday, too, and worked wonders for Ichigo's ass, but right now both men shared the wish of him wearing sweat pants. Instead he pulled on the belt buckle, then tugged at the end of the belt to get it out of its loops, until finally, finally it fell on the ground with a silent clack.

Eventually the button lost its own war against nimble fingers and Ichigo slipped down the offensive clothing – revealing nothing but naked skin underneath.

Ichigo's erection jumped free of the denim prison it had been captured in, now finally standing proud and free. Its tip was glistening with precum, shining red where the foreskin had revealed a part of the head. Renji's growl vibrated loud in his throat.

"Come here, handsome!" he nothing but ordered, waving Ichigo nearer with an impatient hand. He needed to feel this sinfully beautiful man against him! And finally Ichigo was obedient, slid up against Renji's skin as he settled against the bigger form of the tattooed man.

Skin touched skin, body covered body, only separated by an inch where Ichigo supported his weight on his elbows so he wouldn't crush Renji's healing ribs.

There wasn't an inch of space between their tongues, though, both appendages being engaged in a thorough kiss, tangling with each other and making the most obscene sounds, licking and slurping.

There wasn't any space left between their groins, either, where their cocks met and ground against each other. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over them, taking them higher and higher, until Renji felt like he had left his body altogether, being rid of all the distractions of a injured body, only feeling where Ichigo touched him, where their mouths mashed and their erections covered each other in their juices.

"Ren, I've been dreaming about this," Ichigo admitted between heated kisses and urgent grinding. "You under me, giving me exactly this look. I can feel you under me, Ren, your cock digging into my hip."

"Me too, Ich!" Renji bit out, breathing heavily, swallowing around a new lump in his throat, different from the one he had fought against last night. "I was honest with you today, Ichigo, and I- ah! – I want to keep it that way, so, uhhmmmm – sleep with me!"

He didn't exactly know where this had come from, but it made breathing easier, like a weight had been lifted of his body. Wait, a weight **had** been lifted. "Ichigo?"

"Are you… Are you serious, Renji? I'm not sure I can make this a one time only performance."

"You wish!" Renji scoffed, dragging Ichigo back against him, broken ribs be damned. "I told you I dreamed about you," he continued after taking a sharp intake of air when Ichigo's body had come to rest on his chest. "About all the things I want to do with you; and all the things I want you to do with me. This is one of them, so…"

He wouldn't beg, he refused to. He had begged once, for Rukia's life; and he had apologized to Ichigo earlier, but he wouldn't beg for sex now. He would get it, period. Another possibility wasn't a possibility. And when Ichigo started undulating on top of him, creating the sweetest friction, he knew they both had won.

"Okay, Renji! Ah.! I- We will…"

"Fuck, Ich! It's called- Fuck, you're hot!"

Ichigo stretched over Renji, searching in the bedside table for a hand lotion the hospital supplied its patients with, and came back with the searched item in his hand. He showed it to Renji who nodded, but then hesitated again.

"I don't have a condom."

"I'm not getting pregnant."

"And what about STDs?"

"First of all, I'm clean; second of all, you are too; and third of all, to make you forget about the matter at all, I'm in my spirit form – we shinigami are as healthy as they come, except for Ukitake-taichou."

"Oh… Okay…" The intense heat in Ichigo's eyes got even more intense as he covered his fingers in lotion and circled Renji's twitching hole with one of the slickened digits. "This is not your first time, is it?"

"Are you kidding me?" Renji laughed and could only hope Ichigo wouldn't be offended or, even worse, disgusted. "It's not my first time, and it won't be my last. But, and this might sound cheesy as hell, I hope all the next ones will be with one and the same person."

He could only hope it didn't sound as cheesy in Ichigo's eyes as it did in Renji's own, but on the other hand – the most awkward situations lay behind them at this point. The first touch, the first kiss, the question of who would be naked first, who'd be responsible for the stripping, who'd be doing who – everything in the clear, so why not give it a try?

"You mean as in you and I are exclusive?"

"I mean as in you and I are a couple."

"I… I would like that!" The cute blush adorning Ichigo's face worked as a wonderful distraction, for about two seconds, then reality caught up to Renji and he arched his back with a loud moan.

"Damn, Ichigo! Where did you- God! Learn to hit the prostate dead on?" He tossed his head around (as cautiously as possible), grinding his pelvis against the intrusion.

"My father **is** a doctor, you know?" Whatever Ichigo might have said after that was lost on Renji as Ichigo started pumping his finger in and out of his tight passage, once again making obscene, squishy noises. Renji's own noises were nowhere less obscene, moaning and panting under Ichigo's ministrations.

Suddenly the finger left his needy rear and Renji managed to pry his eyes open, searching for an explanation for the lack of preparation he was enjoying. "Gimme a sec, okay? Need more lotion – and more precautions."

Ichigo didn't explain what he was planning and Renji didn't ask for an explanation. He was too far gone to care for what his Ich was about to do – he was sure it would be worth it. And it was worth every second of the wait, when Ichigo's lips closed over his open mouth again, sharing his breath with him. Renji inhaled deeply, taking in as much of Ichigo's air as he could, filling his lungs with what made his lover live.

He was still sharing Ichigo's air when two lubed fingers breached his hole and plunged into him, heading straight for his prostate. Renji couldn't help himself: He bucked, he tried to turn his head away to gasp, he screamed – but Ichigo straddling Renji's legs prevented him from getting away, his free hand grabbing his chin kept his pliable mouth in place and his kiss swallowed the cry Renji let out in his passion.

Scissoring motions made Renji long for more, made him want to feel more of Ichigo inside him, made him long for being filled by the throbbing cock lying heavy on his thigh. The wrist of the hand preparing him for what was to come rubbed against his cock, making him leak even more precum and the whole situation made him feel heady.

He fought his head free of Ichigo's grip and turned his face to the side, heavily panting and stifling his willing groans through sheer force of will. "Enough, Ich! I'hmmmm ready!" he groaned, and, to support his case, threw his arms around the upper body hovering over him. "I want to feel everything of you, the pain when you enter me. I don't want to read like this anymore, like a damsel in distress. I want you to fuck me like the man I am!"

Ichigo looked down on him, arousal written all over his face, and nodded. Finally, FINALLY, he sat back and settled under Renji, taking his rear onto his lap and waiting for the older male to throw his long legs around his waist. That being done, he took the lotion again and lubed his cock, then the twitching hole he was about to enter.

"You ready?" he asked, his face open and honest, hovering over Renji. Instead of answering he nudged his heels into Ichigo's back, bringing him close enough to feel the blunt tip of his beautiful cock poke him in his lubricated crack.

Ichigo didn't wait for another nudge, he just went with the flow and increased the pressure on Renji's prepared entrance. Both felt the increasing need, the impatience of being finally one, until, with a satisfied, deep and rumbling moan, Ichigo sank into him until his balls gingerly touched Renji's ass.

Renji, who had been waiting for the piercing pain that usually came with being penetrated, wondered why it didn't come. It was then that he realized he was completely relaxed; he felt safe, being taken care of, he felt completed with Ichigo between his legs, deep within him, and he opened his eyes disbelievingly and immediately drowned in Ichigo's worried gaze.

"You okay?", he heard him ask, worry and strain obvious in his voice. Worry for Renji's wellbeing and strain of not pounding into him right then and there.

"I'm fine, Ich! More than that!" And he really was! It had taken some time for him to realize how great he felt, how good it was to feel Ichigo inside him, piercing through his inner core. "I've never been better, Ich! And now, about that being fucked like the man I am? You may proceed!"

"You spent too much time with Byakuya, Ren!" Ichigo chuckled and stayed still for a little while longer, his face taking on a more serene expression. His frown was gone completely, gone was the hardness of his eyes, gone were the strains in the corners of his mouth. Instead he almost looked angelic, calm, in sync with himself and those around him; the one around his cock in particular.

"Renji, I… I think I might… It's possible that I…"

"I know, Ich, I know," Renji interrupted him and dragged his face down to him, engaging Ichigo in a deep kiss full of emotions. The kiss urged Ichigo on to finally start moving inside him, and so he began with a slow, steady rhythm that got him a little deeper with every thrust.

Eventually he picked up his speed and the length of his thrusts, changing the angle of his entry a little every few seconds, until-

"Oh YES!"

Now there was no holding back any longer and Ichigo buried his cock deep inside Renji. Both men were reduced to moans and panting, every now and then stuttering the name of their lovers – or at least some syllables that could make their names.

Renji could feel Ichigo's penis sliding along his stretched hole, filling him to the brink before retreating, only to pump into him again, all the while rubbing his own erection between their taut stomachs.

He was halfway done with covering both their bellies in his precum when Ichigo's thrusts grew erratic and he slowed down considerably. "I'm… I'm almost there, Ren!" he panted bashful, his face even more beautiful now, soaked in sweat, a rich red adorning his cheeks and forehead, mouth agape and lips kissed swollen.

When he showed signs of slipping out of Renji the redhead once again used his legs to pull him in, maybe even deeper than he had been before. Instead of the ranting he wanted to do he moaned particularly loud, having pushed Ichigo's thick cock straight against his prostate, so that every single movement of the younger man made him shiver in delight.

"Not- goin'- anghhh!-where!" he ground out, his whole body quivering in bliss. "In me!"

* * *

Ichigo didn't need a second invitation. Renji's language might lack in grammar, but his words, his voice, his _body_ told him what to do. Rolling his hips against Renji's pelvis, he ground deeper into the willing heat surrounding his cock. It was as if he was trying to crawl into Renji through his hidden entrance, and Ichigo would have done the exact thing if it were possible.

Never had he felt better before. Not only in the sexual way, because the sex was breathtakingly awesome – enough so to make it hard to breath between his moans, groans and exclamations of Renji's name.

He felt complete in a whole new way, as if he had found a piece that had been missing without him knowing it existed in the first place.

All these thoughts were on a rampage in his brain, in his heart, and all the while he rolled his hips, reveled in the noises he could elicit out of Renji. Renji, the man he had entrusted his family to, the man he trusted with his life – everything was Renji and Renji was everything.

And above all that, he was hot and tight around him, welcoming his cock with want and need, and he was Ichigo's undoing.

As soon as the death grip of the strong legs around his waist had loosened he returned to thrust into Renji in a powerful, bed shaking rhythm that almost made his eyes roll into the back of his skull. But he wouldn't let them, wouldn't even let them close in bliss. He wanted to take everything in!

The smell of their sweat mingling in the air, the musk, the scent of sex surrounding them; the sound of their labored breathing, each one of their growls and groans, moans and pants; the feeling of slick skin against slick skin, of tight, unbelievably tight and hot heat sucking his cock in over and over again, the rocking of the bed and the twitching legs urging him on to go deeper, faster, harder; he wanted to taste the sweat glistening on his lip, even more of them were glistening on Renji's upper lip, so Ichigo kissed those away, taking in the salty flavor that he instantly grew addicted to; and he wanted to see Renji in all his beauty, tossing in the throes of passion, not thinking about what he might look like, but opening everything about him for Ichigo to take it.

And Ichigo took just as much as he offered for Renji to take.

In and out, in and out he pushed, moaning different versions of Renji's name, sometimes whispering them, sometimes sighing them, sometimes even screaming them as he neared his orgasm.

Bucking thrusts buried him as deep inside of Renji as he was able to get in their current position and he felt his cock twitch, felt it pump and fight to get even deeper, as orgasm took him and made him collapse onto Renji in a quivering heap.

The world went black for a second and everything around him was gone, everything except Renji who held him in his arms, drawing soothing circles on his back, cautiously avoiding slightly burning marks in his skin.

"You with me again?", Renji's voice asked. "Oh, I'm sorry for your back… Hehe." His smile was beautiful, all childish delight and adult love.

"Renji, I love you." It was a statement. Four words, one sentence, one meaning, forever. That he was still buried balls deep inside Renji, that they were fused together in the most intimate position there was, all of that didn't matter. All there was were two hearts being one.

"Ichigo, I love you." Renji answered just as sure as Ichigo had said it, as a statement, not a theory.

Eventually, Ichigo's flaccid member slipped out of Renji's slippery hole and Renji tried to get Ichigo to lie down beside him, but Ichigo was a little reluctant. "Have you even…"

Renji laid his finger across Ichigo's lips and nodded at his crotch. A mess of fluids greeted Ichigo's gaze and he grinned sheepishly. "I have, and plenty at that", Renji smiled and patted on the mattress. "Now come here and hold me like the manly beast you are!"

Ichigo sank down next to Renji and cuddled as close to the taller frame as he could, not giving a shit about male pride or anything like that. All that mattered was Renji next to him, his heavily beating heart under his ear and his warmth seeping into his equally overheated skin.

"Wow, some manly man you are!" Renji teased, but dragged Ichigo even closer and half on top of him.

"I don't care," Ichigo shot back. "I'm not the one who took it in the ass!"

Renji shoved him in the shoulder playfully, but quickly pulled him back into a kiss. "But you will be at some point!"

"A point I'm looking forward to!"

They fell silent and eventually Ichigo pulled the blankets over both of them, tucking them in and falling into a light slumber.

* * *

He had forgotten where they were, having Ichigo at his side felt too good to care about anything else, but he was painfully reminded of the fact when he was awoken by the piercing scream of a female voice. He instantly grabbed for the blanket Ichigo had hogged in the short time they had been napping, but remembered she couldn't see her, so he didn't bother any longer.

"Kurosaki-san! You aren't supposed to be sleeping in an empty hospital room!" she screeched, and judging by the blush covering her face she knew exactly that Ichigo hadn't just been sleeping in the bed.

Speaking of which, Ichigo stirred next to him and opened his eyes sleepily, not deeming the nurse in the room worth an answer before he had given Renji a quick peck to the lips. When he finally turned to the nurse, Renji got a proper look at his hair.

He cracked up that very second.

"Oh, shut up, you!" Ichigo growled through his teeth and then, louder, "Why wouldn't I? It's pretty much my own hospital, so there shouldn't be a problem."

"But the other patients…"

"Would be well taken care of, should you decide to do your job and care about them instead of me."

The nurse huffed and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Wow, that was harsh…" Renji chuckled, but didn't find it in him to scold Ichigo for his rude behavior.

"Not a problem, you can take care of her later."

"Me?! Why would I?"

"You're a shinigami, she's a ghost. You're supposed to lead her to the afterlife, she refuses to let me do it since I'm, and I quote, 'only a substitute not even worth the title'. She insists on a shinigami at least seated in one of the officer ranks."

Renji nearly fell out of the bed, shaking with laughter. "Oh my god, this is just great! A ghost Kurosaki Ichigo is afraid of! Have you seen her blushing? I bet she heard you moan and thought you were doing naughty things in here."

"Well, we _were_ doing naughty things in here, but that happens all the time. Not with me, but neither nurses nor patients are nuns, you know? And she wasn't blushing because of the sounds I made – she was blushing because you are hard."

"Well, yes, I am, but it's not like she-"

"Yes, she could. She's a ghost, remember?"

Now it was Renji's turn to blush. "I'm not sure she's too fond of the idea of me conducting her soul burial…"

"Naaah, that won't be a problem. Just prepare for some jokes about you compensate something with the size of your katana."

**Author's notes**

I'm not in the mood to write, haven't been for the last month or so. Stress in the uni can do that, and I feel bad about it. Even more so since I'm supposed to be writing something special for someone special (I haven't forgot about you, Ele! Promise!).

But today I talked to my great friend Kazuma85 and we kinda brainstormed, until a little plot bunny jumped us - straight in da face! I said I wouldn't write since, well, I'm not in a writing mood, so Kazu threatened to steal the bunny and make it her own, on top of all the things she is supposed to write. Yes, you know what I'm talking about! Now shoo! Go type like crazy! XD

Well, either way, it started with denial, then became a craze, and now is about 33 pages of IchiRen. And it only took me, like, a few hours. Somewhere around eleven, maybe? Look it! And here I thought I couldn't write for this long. ^^

It was supposed to be something short, just to get the juices flowing. It ended with quite a few flowing juices, some of them my own (literature-wise, perv!)

So, Kazu, this is for our one year anniversary. I love you with everything I am, in our very special way of loving. Not actually love, but close enough; and even closer than that in some aspects. Thank you for everything you are to me!

PS: Disclaimer: Neither owning Bleach, nor a clinic. But I own the laptop this was written on and I claim ownership over the plot bunny. It's mine! The picture that led to this was shown to me by Kazu. Go shower her in love! It's her fault I'm writing for Bleach in the first place!


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